SRHMatters Friday Podcast

NEW EPISODE

Extending the concept of "obstetric violence" to post-partum experiences:
cautions regarding the "first ever" pill for post-partum depression

Obstetric violence & the pharmaceuticalization of post-partum depression

This week on the SRHM Podcast, we uncover the hidden complexities of postpartum depression treatment and its troubling connection to obstetric violence.

We speak with Alicia Ely Yamin (Harvard Law School) and Lisa Cosgrove (University of Massachusetts, Boston) about their recent commentary in the SRHM Journal, Extending the concept of "obstetric violence" to post-partum experiences: cautions regarding the "first ever" pill for post-partum depression.

With postpartum depression affecting 1 in 8 women in the U.S. and maternal health disparities disproportionately harming women of color, the conversation highlights a critical concern:
Is the new "breakthrough" PPD drug, zuranolone, truly a solution—or does it sidestep deeper structural issues?

The authors argue that without full informed consent, prescribing this medication may be a subtle yet dangerous form of obstetric violence.

Tune in for this 15 minute discussion as we explore the medicalization of distress, racial and economic inequities, and the urgent need for reproductive justice-centered maternal care.

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The unprecedented assault of the Trump administration on scientific research and the health community—both in the U.S. and abroad—should push us toward deeper collective mobilization to address structural inequalities in healthcare."
Alicia Ely Yamin

"Postpartum distress is real, but reducing it to a biomedical issue prevents us from addressing the economic and social factors that drive it."
Lisa Cosgrove

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